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Politics

Crist to keep state emergency chief

Another appointee will oversee a contract with a vendor his law firm represented.

By JENNIFER LIBERTO
Published December 19, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - Gov.-elect Charlie Crist named three agency heads on Monday, including one who will oversee the state's contract with a controversial vendor his law firm represented.

Crist tapped Kevin Hyde, 43, to run the Department of Management Services and Monesia Taylor Brown, 34, to run the Agency for Workforce Innovation. Crist also announced that he is keeping Craig Fugate, 47, who will continue running the Division of Emergency Management. Salaries have not been set.

Hyde is a Republican Jacksonville City Council member and a partner at Foley Lardner, which represented Convergys. Foley Lardner helped the publicly traded company prepare and win its bid to run the state's personnel system, according to the firm's Web site.

The Attorney General's Office is investigating Convergys, and Crist said Monday his office was in negotiations with the company, but didn't elaborate.

Convergys has come under criticism from unions and lawmakers for a turbulent rollout of its check-cutting service and for not catching a subcontractor that exported sensitive personal data about state employees overseas, violating its contract. The Management Services Department oversees a host of state government support services from running the state's air fleet to cutting employee paychecks.

"It's being reviewed ... and scrutinized," Crist said Monday of the Convergys contract. "We want to do everything we can to make sure the people get what they deserve and what they expect."

Hyde did not work directly with Convergys, Crist spokeswoman Erin Isaac said. "His new client is the state of Florida, and he will work to serve the citizens with honor and integrity," Isaac said.

Brown has worked alongside Crist for three years as the lobbyist for the Attorney General's Office. She also has worked as an attorney for the Management Services Department and for the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Brown, a Republican, made $1,000 in contributions to Crist's campaign.

Fugate will be Crist's first holdover from Gov. Jeb Bush. Fugate, a Democrat, has run the division for five years and makes $116,000.

Crist also appointed Ruben Almaguer as Fugate's deputy director. Almaguer, 42, a Republican, is an administrative operations chief for the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department.

Almaguer has been dispatched to many of the nation's most tragic disasters, from the Oklahoma City bombing to the terrorist attacks in New York.

Times researcher Deirdre Morrow contributed to this report.

[Last modified December 19, 2006, 06:04:38]